Every fall, the folding tables come out. In church basements, community centers and school lobbies across Westchester, volunteers fill backpacks with glue sticks, child-safe scissors and composition notebooks. It is a good tradition, rooted in the belief that every child deserves to walk into a classroom ready to learn. But when was the last time a glue stick helped someone land a job, solve a problem in a boardroom or put a person on the moon?

Our commitment to accessible education has endured. Our understanding of what readiness requires has not kept pace. A child who goes home to no computer and no internet connection is not ready, no matter how full the backpack.

This fall, our phones did not stop ringing with requests for computers from young people. The STEM Alliance leads the region's only scalable Digital Navigator Corps, which brings computers, basic digital skills training and help enrolling in free and affordable internet service to anyone who needs it. In a typical season, that work reaches job seekers, older adults and parents. This season, the requests came from students who needed laptops to complete homework, begin a training program or study at........

© lohud.com